A Merry Road Trip


A Merry Road Trip
By Allan Olson
Christmas went by in a whirl this year, with about six hours of a 14-hour day spent behind the windshield of the van. We completed all of our Christmas baking on Saturday evening, baking the last of six pies for the family. Earlier in December we had browsed through various cookbooks for pies to fit selected family members’ tastes. We also made an extra pie for another relative who we knew would be joining us for Christmas.
On Sunday morning we woke up early and got everyone fed and ready to rumble. We pulled out of the driveway by 8:30 a.m., and made it to my parents’ church at Lake of the Woods just in time for services. Afterwards, we feasted on a scrumptious meal and visited with family for a few hours (and opened a few presents, too) before venturing off to another Christmas party in International Falls. After partaking in more food, companionship and gifts, we were back on the road again. We headed for home, and had the van unloaded by 11 p.m. Bob was especially excited to see that we were back home, so he wouldn’t have to spend any more time outside in the dark and cold.
We decided to head into town on Monday morning so the kids could spend their gift card money. We encountered throngs of people buying last minute gifts, but even so, it wasn’t a bad shopping experience with the kids.
Enroute to the store, we went in search of a geocache that I had sought before; I had another idea of where it might be this time. On the previous search I think I nearly stepped on the cache and never noticed it; this time we were just about ready to give up when mom made the find. Just in time, too, since it was a rather chilly day to be out for a walk in the park next to the lake.
That afternoon we watched some television, took some naps and just lazed around. That evening mom and I wrapped presents for the kids (she wrapped, and I stayed out of the way). Christmas morning we awoke early again, expecting the kids to be jumping in on us, eager to unwrap presents. We waited and waited; eventually they awoke and got around to asking us. The presents were unwrapped in a flurry, the kids exclaimed about their gifts, then took a few of their toys and headed back to the television and the rest of their toys. The remainder of the day was similar to the previous – lazing around, enjoying a restful day of reading, taking naps, munching on Christmas goodies and playing games.
In the evening, Mom and I (with some help from Abigail) did some cleaning in our bedroom. Abigail was patiently waiting for someone to play with her new ponies with her, and eventually conned her Dad into it, in exchange for helping out with the bedroom project.
Not much is planned for New Year’s; it looks to be a replica of Christmas weekend, minus the windshield time. However, plans tend to change, so who knows what might happen over the coming holiday break. Have a safe and Happy New Year!
Remember to watch out for school buses on the roads; they are carrying a precious cargo – our children. Also please exercise caution when venturing out on the lakes. Thanks for reading, and have a great and safe weekend. For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com/.

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